Shelf life of frozen goods
The maximum permissible storage time de-
pends on the quality of the food, its prepara-
tion prior to freezing and the quality require-
ments of the individual household. For fatty
foods, shorter times apply.
Reference values
Type
Months
Butter
2–3
Ice cream
2–3
Ready meals
2–3
Fish
2-6
Pastries
2–3
Poultry
6-12
Vegetables
6-12
Cheese
2-6
Fruit
6-12
Mushrooms
6-8
Beef
6-12
Pork
2-6
Cakes and pies
4-6
Game
4-8
Sausage
2-4
Storing frozen food
The deep-freeze chain must not be broken
between the manufacturer and your freezer.
The temperature of the frozen food must al-
ways be at least -18 °C.
• Therefore, do not buy any goods that
– are in frosty, over-icy chests.
– are stacked above the stipulated high-load
marker.
– partially clumped (particularly easy to iden-
tify with berries and vegetables).
– have snow and juice traces.
• Transport frozen foods in special styro-
foam boxes or insulated bags.
• Observe the storage conditions and times
on the packaging
Defrosting food
Observe the following basic rules when de-
frosting food:
– To defrost food, remove it from the freezer
and let it defrost at room temperature or in
the refrigerator.
– To defrost food quickly, use the defrost
function on your microwave, for example.
Observe the manufacturer’s instructions
and note that bacteria and germs can form
in this way.
– Cook or use thawed foods as soon as pos-
sible.
– Dispose of the defrosting liquid.
– If you only want to defrost part of a pack,
remove the portion you need and immedi-
ately close the rest of the pack. In this way,
you will avoid ‘freezer burn’ and will reduce
ice formation on the remaining foods.
– Always defrost meat, poultry and fish in the
refrigerator. Make sure that the frozen food
is not immersed in its own thawing liquid.
Cook or use thawed foods as soon as
possible. Dispose of the defrosting liquid.
Freezing foods/storing frozen foods
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